


Shadows and Secrets

by CassandraStarflower



Series: Knights and Guardians [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, W.I.T.C.H.
Genre: Crossover, and fandom stuff for batman, and whatever else i've absorbed, based off of the cartoon for w.i.t.c.h., i haven't read either set of comics, i hope someone likes this, no beta we die like will's altermere, no real background knowledge of either fandom needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27192413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassandraStarflower/pseuds/CassandraStarflower
Summary: What if Tony Vandom’s mother was a Kane, and he was Bruce and Kate’s cousin?Bruce and Kate haven’t actually heard from cousin Tony in years, but an attempt at reconnecting leads the Batfamily to Heatherfield, California, a city full of mysteries.Like Tony’s daughter, Will.Like a strange pink crystal.Like a dangerous and suspicious stalker.Like an alliance that could destroy both the Guardians-and the universe.
Relationships: Taranee Cook & Cornelia Hale & Irma Lair & Hay Lin & Will Vandom, Tony Vandom/Serena Sanchez
Series: Knights and Guardians [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010580
Comments: 22
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is possibly THE weirdest crossover I have ever written and I once wrote a massive crossover between the MCU, Stranger Things, and IT.  
> But I think this will work!  
> This is based off of the W.I.T.C.H. cartoon and perhaps some bits from the comics, found through the internet and those weird novelizations they had in America for a while, and off of whatever I know of the Batfam through the Internet, comic panels, fanfiction, and the Teen Titans cartoon. I think I have the basics of the timeline down? Maybe? But the ages are not necessarily comic accurate and I pick and choose from what I know of the comics. Might not actually work, but whatever. Also, I know very little about Kate (but desperately wanted to include her), so everything in this fic for her is based off of fanon and what I read in the wikia page.  
> Ages: (it’s been roughly a year since the end of Season 2)  
> Will - 15  
> Cornelia - 15  
> Irma - 14  
> Taranee - 14  
> Hay Lin - 13, almost 14  
> Matt - 16  
> Caleb - 17  
> Dick - 23 (Nightwing)  
> Jason - 18 (Red Hood)  
> Cass - 18 (Black Bat)  
> Duke - 16 (Signal)  
> Tim - 15 (Red Robin)  
> Damian - 11 (Robin)  
> Bruce - 37 (Batman)  
> Kate - 30 (Batwoman)  
> Tony - 36

Honestly, this was one of the stranger days in Bruce’s life, which was really saying something given his life choices. 

He could fight bizarre and dangerous supervillains any day, but reconnecting with his cousin? That was weird. 

At least he wasn’t alone in this, since Kate was here too. 

It had been several long years since they had last seen Tony. Not since the year before he had had his divorce. A not entirely unexpected development, really- he and Susan had been ill-matched. 

And Tony could be  _ very _ irresponsible. 

The two cousins headed down the sidewalk towards the apartment building Tony lived in, each wondering how this trip was going to go. With Tony, it could either go magnificently or end in a screaming match. 

Hopefully, it would be the former. 

Pretty soon, they were at Tony’s apartment, and he quickly answered the door with a smile. 

“Bruce, Kate! Great to see you. You haven’t met Serena- this is Serena Sanchez, my fiancée.” he said, gesturing to the lovely Latina woman beside him. “Serena, my cousins, Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane.” 

If Serena was surprised that her fiance’s cousin was one of the richest men in America, she did not show it. She just smiled and offered a polite “Nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too.” Bruce said, offering a hand to her. She shook. 

The four of them sat in the living room and started to chat. 

“And where’s Will?” Bruce asked. 

Tony sighed. “Susan has custody.” 

This was… not unexpected at all. 

“But, they live in Heatherfield, and she’s been spending time with me and Serena, so you’ll get a chance to see her and catch up.” Tony added. 

“Oh, that sounds nice.” Bruce said. 

It turned out they would see Will sooner than expected, since she turned up about an hour into the visit, with a hasty knock at the door before letting herself in. 

“Hi, Dad, hi Serena-” She broke off when she spotted them, looking startled, then smiled. “Hi.” 

“Hi, Will.” Kate said. 

“Will!” Tony said, sounding somewhat startled. “I didn’t realize- I forgot- I forgot to mention they were visiting.” 

“Oh, that’s okay,” Will said, sounding surprisingly unbothered. “Plans with the girls fell through, Irma got grounded. So I figured…”

“Well, it’s good to see you again.” Bruce said, smiling. Last time he had seen Will, she had been twelve, and a lot had changed- she had moved and he had gained quite a few children since then. 

Will beamed, setting her backpack on the floor (it was green and covered in frogs) and plopping onto the couch. 

“So, why’d Irma get grounded?” Tony asked. 

“She failed history.” Will answered. “Her parents are pi- mad.” 

“So, Irma’s one of your friends?” Bruce asked, aiming for casual and probably missing the mark. Look, he could play the airheaded billionaire, but he tried not to do that around family, and anyway he wasn’t actually that great with conversations. 

Just ask his children. Or Alfred. Or really anyone he interacted with outside of the ‘Brucie’ persona. 

Or maybe even the people he interacted with while using the ‘Brucie’ persona. 

Luckily, Will didn’t seem to mind the chance to talk about her friends and was off on a long explanation of her four best friends and her boyfriend, Matt. 

At some point during her explanations, she moved and a heavy-looking necklace fell from her pocket. Bruce was a bit surprised; the setting looked like silver and the jewel was a fist-sized, perfectly spherical chunk of pink crystal. 

It looked expensive. Very expensive. More expensive than most museum pieces. 

Much more expensive than anything a fifteen-year-old could afford. 

Well. Maybe Tim. 

But  _ most _ fifteen-year-olds. 

Will immediately scooped it up and tucked it back into her pocket, shoulders tensing. “Um. Then there’s Hay Lin. Her family owns a restaurant, The Silver Dragon…”

She clearly did not want anyone to ask questions about the crystal. 

Bruce smiled and said, “Well, we’d better check it out sometime, then.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will freaks out, Bruce looks into the crystal, and the Silver Dragon is a great restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two! Still somewhat short, but it’s easier to keep to an update schedule if the chapters stay short.

Will arrived home with a bang of the front door and Susan looked up sharply, eyes narrowing. 

“Did you go visit your father?” she demanded. 

“Maybe.”

“I thought you were going over to Irma’s.”

“She’s grounded.” Will replied. “Hey, guess what? Dad’s cousins are in town.” 

Susan blinked. “Really.” 

“Yup.” Will headed for the kitchen, flinging open the fridge and snagging a snack. “It was nice talking to them.” 

With that, she headed to her room. 

Susan watched her go, then picked up the phone and dialed her ex-husband. 

\---

Will shut her bedroom door, dropped her backpack on the floor, and  _ threw _ herself onto her bed. 

So maybe she was being a little dramatic. So what? 

She couldn’t  _ believe _ the Heart had just slipped out of her pocket like that. All this time, being so careful, and only Serena had ever gotten a good look at the crystal. 

Her life was freaking over. She knew full well how expensive the Heart looked. What were Bruce and Kate going to think? That she had stolen it? Oh, God, she was  _ dead _ . So dead. 

What good was a Keeper of the Heart if said Keeper just fucking  _ failed _ utterly and completely to protect the Heart and let  _ random people _ see it and just failed epically? 

Okay, maybe she wasn’t as bad as  _ Nerissa _ , but that was such an incredibly low bar that Will had no trouble at all clearing it. But this… this was bad! She was worse than Cassidy, for sure. 

Not that you could surpass  _ dying _ to protect the Heart. But still! 

Okay. 

Will took a deep breath and sat up, pulling the Heart out of her pocket. This wasn’t so bad. Maybe they hadn’t really noticed. They hadn’t said anything about it. Everything was totally fine. They probably thought it was costume jewelry, it was a little ostentatious and not all that fashionable really. Totally fine! 

She was going to  _ die _ . 

The Heart pulsed reassuringly in Will’s hand and she gently closed her fist around it, feeling the warm crystal beating in time with her heart. 

\---

Bruce was… a little bit confused. 

He had asked about the necklace after Will had left. Tony had shrugged it off and Serena had mentioned seeing it in Will’s bag once and asking; Will had said it was costume jewelry, “totally worthless”, and then had zipped her bag up and given Serena several suspicious looks before apparently forgetting about it. That was very strange. It didn’t look like costume jewelry at all. 

He and Kate had gone back to the hotel after chatting with Tony and Serena a bit more, and he had promptly decided to look into that necklace. 

However. 

There were no records whatsoever of a large pink crystal like the one Will had. No museum records, no store records, no records at all. 

He had found one reference to a fist-sized pink crystal, in a Chinese legend of all places. 

The Legend of the Four Dragons. 

Hmm. Legends did often have basis in fact. 

Was it possible that the crystal was magical in origin? 

But why would Will have it if it was indeed the crystal from the legend? 

And what exactly was it? 

“Dinner?” Kate asked from the doorway. “Want to try out that restaurant Will mentioned?” 

The Silver  _ Dragon _ . 

Probably had nothing to do with the legend or with that crystal. But… worth a try. Even if just for the food. 

“Sure.” Bruce said, getting up and heading for the door. “Sounds good.” 

\---

Will paced the basement of the Silver Dragon, the girls, Matt, and Yan Lin settling in around her. 

“Probably won’t be a problem.” Yan Lin judged. “It’s a necklace. I certainly never got any odd looks.”

“Grandma, you’re  _ old _ .” Hay Lin pointed out. “So people wouldn’t notice as much.” 

“Hey!” Yan Lin objected. 

“I just…” Will trailed off anxiously. “They’re  _ smart people _ . I managed to pass it off as costume jewelry when Serena asked, but I don’t know if she believed me, and it looks so old and expensive-” 

The Heart dangled from her fingertip, spinning and glowing softly. They all stared at it. 

“I guess it doesn’t  _ really _ look like your style.” Cornelia acknowledged. “But like Ms. Lin said, it’s probably not a problem.” 

“It’s pink. You like pink.” Irma offered. 

Will huffed and hooked the Heart over her head, dropping it into her jacket. 

\---

The Silver Dragon was small and rather crowded, clearly a popular place for locals and tourists alike. Like Will had said, it looked to be largely family-run. 

Bruce and Kate got seated quickly and a small and cheerful Chinese woman came to hand them menus. 

“I’m Mira Lin, I’ll be serving you today!” she told them, smiling. 

They ordered their drinks and took a look at the menu. 

It was a nice restaurant. There was artwork on the walls, the staff all seemed very polite and efficient, and the food looked pretty good. 

It was a nice meal. But Bruce couldn’t exactly turn off his detective brain, and he noticed some things. 

Like the apparently-identical old women, Mira and Yan Lin. 

Like a painting, hanging in the hallway to the bathroom, that depicted four dragons and a woman. 

The woman was shown cradling a glowing pink crystal in her hands. 

There was definitely a connection here. 

Hmm. 

“Who painted the painting in the hallway down by the bathrooms?” he asked Mira. 

“Oh, that would be Hay Lin. She’s very talented.” Mira replied pleasantly. Bruce hummed and nodded. Kate gave him a suspicious look. 

\---

“Okay, what was that all about?” Kate demanded once they were outside. 

Bruce sighed. “Will’s necklace.” 

Kate raised an eyebrow. 

“Look, we can agree that something’s up there, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“That painting had the necklace in it. Without the setting.” 

Kate frowned. “It’s painted by Will’s friend.” she pointed out. 

“It’s also depicting a Chinese legend that involves a pink crystal.” 

“That’s not  _ proof _ .” 

“It’s not exactly a well-known legend, Kate.” 

She sighed. “Still not proof of anything.” 

“But it is strange, isn’t it?” 

“Maybe.” 

Behind them, a blond man raised an eyebrow and smirked, following the pair through the streets, purple eyes glinting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Three will be out next Sunday!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians receive bad news. Bruce is stalked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a grand total of ALMOST THIRTY HITS HELL YEAH   
> Thank you to the 2 people who left kudos, the 2 people who bookmarked, and the 2 people who subscribed, and the however-many-people-have-actually-read-this bc idk if it’s fourteen people who’ve read both chapters or what the distribution is or anything but thanks

The day after Will’s cousins arrived in Heatherfield, the Guardians received bad news. 

Lord Cedric had escaped. Again. 

“He’s no longer in Meridian.” Elyon told them, slouched in her seat. “He had a talisman of some sort, and the guards saw him use it to open a fold. He’s gone, and I have no idea where he went.” 

“Great.” Cornelia muttered. “Just great.” 

“Where would he go?” Matt asked, leaning back in his chair. 

“Earth, possibly.” Caleb replied. “He can blend in there.” 

“Does Miranda have any ideas?” Taranee wondered. 

Elyon made a face. “I asked. She doesn’t know anything. Which we know for sure, by the way, I learned a new trick.” 

“Yeah, from Phobos,” Caleb said. “His little hypno-thing.” 

“If he’s escaped, he’s got a plan.” Will said. “We need to find him and stop him. And maybe move him from Meridian once he’s imprisoned again. He and Phobos in particular I think need a more secure prison.” 

“I can ask Grandma if she’s got ideas on where we can put him.” Hay Lin volunteered. 

“I believe Kandrakar has a prison.” Julian offered, shuffling a stack of papers. 

“Really?” Irma asked. “Wow. I thought they were all about peace and all.” 

“They imprisoned Nerissa.” Cornelia pointed out. 

“Yeah, but on Earth.” 

“Hey.” Will interrupted. “We’ll ask Mrs. Lin later.” 

“I just hope nothing  _ else _ happens.” Taranee muttered. 

\---

Bruce was almost one-hundred percent certain that he was being followed. He had a minor meeting with a business associate he was handling despite technically being on vacation, so he was heading into the man’s company. And there was someone following him. 

Someone who had followed him from the hotel. 

A blond man with a ponytail, he was pretty sure. 

And glasses. 

“Hi.” Bruce said to the receptionist, who glanced up, squeaked, and dropped her pen. 

“I have an appointment with Mr. McGruder?” 

“Oh, right, of course.” she said, wide-eyed. “Mr. Wayne? Nine o’clock?” 

“Yep.” he said, smiling. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the blond man stroll into the building and glance at a sign. 

“Go right on up.” the receptionist told Bruce. “He’s expecting you. Ninth floor.” 

“Thanks.” He headed for the elevator, keeping an eye on the blond man, who had apparently found something interesting on the sign he’d been reading, because he headed for the desk to ask the receptionist something. 

Not necessarily following Bruce. Just… setting off all of Bruce’s alarms. 

\---

The Earth human was clearly wealthy. And clearly knew one of the Guardians, since Cedric had heard the girl’s name in the conversation the Earth man had had with an Earth woman. 

And now he was here, in a very tall building, which just so happened to be the place that the Keeper’s mother worked. 

Cedric had seen her name on a list of important employees. 

And he could be very charming when he wanted to. 

He headed for the elevator, letting his rage and vengeful feelings coalesce in his chest. 

The  _ Guardians _ had stripped him of his power, his rightful place in the world. Banished him to a cell in the Infinite City. Left him with nothing. 

He wanted revenge. And taking the Guardians’ families would do nicely. 

Starting with the Keeper. 

Time to find Susan Vandom. 

\---

Mr. McGruder was not the smartest man Bruce had ever met. But he had business sense and a lot of very smart employees. 

The meeting, while not fun, wasn’t terrible. 

And then they heard the shrieking. 

Loud, terrified, desperate screams. 

Bruce was on his feet and headed for the hallway in moments, with Mr. McGruder several panicked steps behind. 

A woman came bursting out of an office down the hallway, screaming. 

“Amanda!” shouted a woman across the hall. “What on earth?” 

“I-I. a man! I- he’s- Oh my God!” the first woman blubbered. Bruce headed for the office, alongside a frankly ridiculous number of people, to discover a guy with scissors held to Susan Vandom’s throat. 

He did not seem to realize that the edge of the scissors was not in fact sharp enough to kill a person. 

He was also the blond stalker. 

Susan looked terrified. 

Bruce quickly calculated how difficult it would be to save her and simultaneously not expose his secret identity. Before he could make a decision, a security guard came bursting in and grabbed the guy, yanking the scissors out of his hand. 

The man snarled angrily as Bruce quickly snagged Susan’s arm and pulled her out of the office. 

“You cannot hold me!” the man roared. “No pitiful prison can possibly contain me!” 

The guard tightened his grip and started to say, “We’ll see about tha-” 

The man  _ changed _ . 

His arms thickened and turned green and stripey, and he threw the security guard off and jumped out the window, smashing through the glass and falling. 

No one saw him land. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will gets a call. Bruce investigates Rick Hoffman. Cedric makes a new plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have passed fifty hits! I’m very excited.

Will’s phone started ringing practically the moment they arrived back in Silver Dragon. 

“Hey, Mom.” Will said, awkwardly tucking the Heart into her pocket one-handed- the crystal was freaking massive and she had no idea how past Keepers had handled hiding it. 

Did Nerissa just wear it or were pockets more of a thing before? Big pockets. 

“Will. Can you come to Simultech? I don’t want to scare you, honey, but something pretty scary happened.” 

Will froze. “What? What happened?” 

“I think I should wait to tell you until you’re here.” 

Will seized her backpack and turned to the others. “I’ve got to go!” 

Then she bolted up the stairs and out of the restaurant. 

Simultech was incredibly busy. There were police swarming the place, and Will found Amanda wringing her hands near the edge of the crowd. 

“Amanda?” 

Amanda turned. “Oh! Will. Yes, well, let’s go upstairs and find your mother.” 

Will frowned. “What happened?” she asked, trailing after Amanda toward the elevator. “Is Mom okay?” 

They entered the elevator. 

“Yes, yes, well, someone managed to break into the building and attacked her, but she’s fine.” Amanda said distractedly, jabbing the ninth floor button. 

Will froze for a moment, then willed the elevator to move faster. 

It actually did, which was both astonishing and terrifying. 

_ Oops.  _

Ah, superpowers. The other girls at least got to chat with their predecessors. Will’s predecessor was an evil, power-hungry, universe-dominating maniac. Who was imprisoned inside a necklace. 

Which meant Will had very little idea of what was normal and what wasn’t. 

Like accidentally making the elevator move twice as fast as it should be. 

Will clutched the railing and made brief eye contact with a panicked Amanda. 

_ Ding!  _

The doors swished open. 

Will exited quickly, avoiding the crush of police and emergency workers and searching for her mother. Amanda caught up to her and led her to where her mother was sitting, looking a bit pale and with bruises already blooming on her skin. 

“Mom!” Will raced over, wide-eyed. Susan looked up. 

“Will! I’m alright.” Susan promised, hugging her daughter tight. 

“What happened?” 

“Some man got past security.” Susan explained. 

“All the way up to the ninth floor,” Bruce added from behind her, startling Will, who hadn’t seen him. 

A security guard was rattling off a description that made Will’s blood freeze. 

“Blond hair in a ponytail, glasses, either blue or brown eyes, the lighting was difficult and some people saw  _ purple _ eyes, which could be it. Much stronger than he looked. Jumped out a window and wasn’t found on the sidewalk, so he either walked away from falling nine stories or had an accomplice.” 

_ Cedric _ . Was he going to go after their  _ families _ now? This was bad. Real bad. 

Will hugged her mom tighter and reached out to the others. 

**_Guys? I’ve got good news and bad news._ **

**_Oh great._** Irma replied. **_Just what we need._**

Will grimaced, hiding her face in her mom’s shoulder.  **_Well, I sort of found Cedric. But he attacked my mom at work and jumped out the window when security got there._ **

**_Great. Just great. He’s going after our families now?_ ** Cornelia was clearly pissed. 

**_Shit. I’m going home._** Taranee told them. **_Just in case. Did he fall nine stories?_**

**_Yes._ **

**_And definitely survived, right?_ **

**_Yes._ **

**_Oh, great._ **

**_I’m going home, too._** Cornelia sighed. **_Irma?_**

**_Yep._ **

Will returned her attention to her surroundings in time to catch Irma’s dad among the officers swarming in and out of her mom’s office. 

Susan straightened as her boss approached. Mr. McGruder cleared his throat and said, “Well, I think you can head home now. Unless the police need a statement..?” 

“We already got one.” a nearby officer said. 

“Good, good, well, go on home, then.” 

“Alright.” Susan replied, wrapping an arm around Will’s shoulders. 

\---

Bruce was concerned. He had not particularly expected to need to do any Batman work while here, but clearly he did. 

Downstairs on the ground floor, it was chaos. Bruce followed Susan and Will out the front doors, noting that Will had a hand in her pocket, holding something. Maybe the necklace. She seemed tense and wary. 

Almost like she knew something. Something that the police didn’t know. 

He made sure the two got to Susan’s car and headed back to the hotel. 

Getting the security footage was easy. Identifying the man was harder. Then again, he hadn’t really been expecting the man to have any footprint, so finding one Cedric Hoffman, owner of a small bookstore, was surprising. 

Then he dug deeper. 

No records aside from the ownership of the store, which, bizarrely, had closed some two years ago with no explanation. Cedric Hoffman had disappeared at the same time. 

So had the Brown family, whose daughter Elyon had apparently been working at the bookstore. They had supposedly been on vacation, but it didn’t look like the parents had called her out from school and they had been gone for months. In the middle of the school year! 

There was a minor police report from roughly the same time as the disappearance from a woman reporting that Cedric Hoffman was behaving in a strange and predatory manner towards his young employee. 

And then, last year, several police detectives had been sent in as the Browns were finally reported missing. They had apparently believed that Will and her friends were responsible for the disappearance, but the Browns had arrived at the airport just in time to prevent murder charges. 

He couldn’t find any plane tickets for them. 

Nor could he find any real explanation for why Cedric Hoffman would be attacking and trying to kill Susan. They had never met. 

Was this about Will? 

If Cedric Hoffman had been interested in Elyon Brown… and had perhaps persuaded her to leave town with him… and her family had followed? He didn’t get that part. But if Will and her friends had gotten involved, maybe talked Elyon out of trusting this guy, maybe he would be angry about that. 

But no. 

Hoffman wasn’t human. There were no records of his existence. 

There was something wrong here and Bruce did not like not knowing. 

\---

Cedric was… not happy. 

He had been  _ so close _ . But he had underestimated the humans. 

That would not happen again. 

The Keeper would be on guard now. The Air Guardian’s family was out of the question, given the two trained adult ex-Guardians. 

Hmm. 

The Earth Guardian had a young sister, did she not? 

A  _ very _ young, defenseless sister. 

Hmm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment telling me what you think! This is too many exclamation points, probably.  
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Bruce and Kate visit Ye Olde Bookshop. Lillian is not nearly as defenseless as Cedric thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t think Cedric or Phobos ever learned that Lillian is the Heart of Earth? I think it was just Nerissa and the good guys who figured that out.

“Okay, so Susan was attacked by this guy who is clearly not human yesterday.” Kate repeated. Bruce nodded. 

“And you’re pretty sure he’s this Rick Hoffman guy who ran a bookstore and may have kidnapped one of Will’s friends.” 

“It’s a strong possibility.” 

“So, you want to take a look at the bookstore he owned.” 

“Yes.” 

Kate considered this, then shrugged. “Alright, let’s go.” 

\---

Ye Olde Book Shop was small and somewhat dingy from the outside, but picking the lock and sneaking in revealed it to be rather larger than it appeared. 

And also a wreck. There were shelves tipped over, books scattered across the floor, loose pages in messy piles and torn and scattered across the wreckage, and gouge marks in the floor and in shelves. 

“What the fuck happened here?” Kate demanded. 

“Looks like some kind of fight?” Bruce said thoughtfully, glancing at the scorch marks on the floor and walls. 

Kate crouched and turned over a piece of paper, torn from a book. “Hell of a fight. Looks like something with big claws got involved.” 

Bruce touched a scorch mark, frowning. “Not sure this was a normal fight. I’d say multiple non-baseline humans and a few non-humans.” 

Kate stood, glancing at the open window in one wall. “Hell of a fight.” she repeated. 

\---

Lillian was having a great day until the weird man showed up during recess. He kept talking through the fence to her, trying to get her to come closer. 

“Stranger danger!” she said, pointing at him. “Leave me alone!” 

The man sighed. “I know your sister.” 

Lillian paused. 

“And her friend. Elyon?” 

“You know Elly?” 

“Yes, I do. I have a message for you.” 

Lillian frowned. That was a grown-up thing, messages. She went a little closer. Not within grabbing range, ‘cause she wasn’t stupid. 

“What’s the message?” she asked, trying to imitate how her mother said these kinds of things. 

The man smiled and reached through the fence and grabbed her, somehow even though she was too far away. Lillian shrieked, but no one was on the playground all of a sudden. 

“Let me go! Let me go! Help! Help!” she screamed, as loudly as she possibly could. 

The man opened his mouth, jaw unhinging and sharp teeth emerging like the time she saw a tiny bit of a scary movie before her mom realized what was playing and turned the TV off. 

She screamed louder, but no one was coming. Her chest felt hot. 

A tree branch whipped overhead, smacking the man on the face and leaving a long cut. He shut his mouth and leaned back, looking around. Lillian wiggled and the man leaned forward again, looking angry. 

She shrieked again. This time, green light burst out from her and burned him. He dropped her and backed up. Lillian fell on her butt and blinked, confused. 

“Lillian!” Cornelia shouted from the other side of the playground. “Get away from her!” 

The man snarled and ran away, and Lillian burst into tears. Cornelia sprinted over and sank down to hug her sister. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart, he’s gone, you’re okay, you’re safe…” Cornelia mumbled, hugging Lillian tightly. This was terrifying and everything she had been afraid would happen when Will had told them that Cedric was after their families. 

She also had some questions for Napoleon about how the heck Lillian had been able to use her powers. 

Maybe it worked like the Heart of Kandrakar? It still did things on its own with its power even though it powered them. 

Whatever the case, Cornelia had a traumatized nine-year-old on her lap crying and trembling. 

And no idea what to say. 

No way was she leaving Lillian alone anytime soon. No  _ way _ . 

\---

“I think I’m going to ask Tim to look into things.” Bruce muttered as they headed back to the hotel. 

“Not Babs?” Kate asked. 

“She’s dealing with three different serial killers and a time-sensitive case. Tim’s got free time.” 

“He’s good at digging things up.” 

Bruce snorted. “Including things he really shouldn’t have been able to find out.” 

Kate gave him a sideways look. “Still sore about that?” 

“No. Impressed.” 

Kate raised an eyebrow. Bruce gave in. 

“Maybe a little bit.” 

The cousins strolled through the doors of the hotel. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: my child appears!!!!  
> Also, yes, Lillian managed to watch a tiny bit of IT. Probably lucky her mom turned it off before Georgie died. I think that would be a tad traumatizing.  
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the Vandoms. Lillian talks to her cat. And enter Tim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Child Is Here (aka tim drake is my baby and i am very excited about introducing him into the plot)

So Bruce had almost forgotten the scheduled dinner with Tony, Serena, and Will today. After everything that had happened. Today had probably been pretty rough for Will. 

She still showed up. 

“Mom had some meetings with her bosses to talk about security.” Will told them, perched in her chair at the table as Serena set plates down in front of everyone. 

“I hope that guy doesn’t get back through security.” Bruce remarked, watching Will closely. 

A brief flicker of worry and anger crossed her face. “Me too.” 

“Sounds like you had a rough day.” Tony said. 

Will groaned and nodded. 

“I hope your mother is alright?” Serena said, touching Will’s shoulder. 

“She’s fine.” Will answered. “Just shaken.” 

“That’s good.” Serena sat down. 

\---

“You mean Napoleon can really talk?” Lillian asked Cornelia, clinging to her big sister’s hand. 

“Yeah. You wished for him to.” Cornelia replied, wishing that this conversation could have been put off longer. Maybe when her sister was twelve or thirteen, like they had been when Yan Lin gave them the Heart. Not nine. 

(Twelve or thirteen was still probably a bit too young. Now that Cornelia was a bit older, she kept glancing at older pictures of the five of them and thinking  _ child soldiers _ . Then again, Yan Lin had explained it to them, later. That they  _ needed _ to be young. That the older you were when you got the power, the more likely it was that the power would consume you. Younger people adapted better.)

(Still. They had fought in two wars before turning fifteen. It was a bit much.)

The two sisters walked into the elevator and headed up to the penthouse. Lillian had stopped crying by now, occupied with the idea of her cat actually talking. 

As soon as they reached the apartment, Cornelia went looking for Napoleon. 

“We have a problem.” she announced upon locating him. He sat up, staring at Lillian. 

“You can really talk?” Lillian asked, wide-eyed. 

“Yep.” Napoleon replied, shooting Cornelia a confused look. She winced and shrugged. 

Lillian then proceeded to talk to Napoleon for nearly an hour before conking out on the floor. Cornelia quietly moved her to the couch and turned to Napoleon. 

“Lord Cedric escaped prison yesterday. He got to Earth and attacked Will’s mom today. He was stopped by security and got away. And then he went after Lillian.” Her voice was tight with anger. 

“Well, that’s no good.” 

“She  _ used her powers _ , Napoleon. Energy or light or something.” 

Napoleon settled down and said, “Lillian can still access her power. It’s  _ hers _ , we’re just borrowing part of it. Keeping the excess from causing problems. She can’t just use it all over the place right now, only when she really needs it. Like today. I’ll go to school in her backpack with her tomorrow, keep an eye on her at school. In case he comes back. Or anybody else.” 

Cornelia sighed and sank back to lean against the couch. “I hate this. Cedric’s after our families, we’ve got no idea who he’s going to attack next or where he even is when he’s not stalking someone or trying to kill our families… this sucks so much more than Phobos.” 

“Well, doll, at least he isn’t all hopped up on multiple Hearts now.” 

Cornelia groaned. “Oh, don’t even say it.” 

\---

Tim had done and researched some very weird things. Getting a request from his adoptive father to research a strange man who had once owned a bookstore and who also had briefly stalked Bruce and attacked Bruce’s cousin’s ex-wife was one of the weirder ones. 

Not, like, the  _ weirdest _ . But it was up there. 

And then he actually really started looking into Heatherfield itself. And things got so. much. weirder. 

A supposed monster in City Hall. Stolen birth records. Missing persons. Trashed malls and government buildings and streets and schools. Seemingly random appearances from people who didn’t legally exist. 

Like Elyon Brown. She had school and medical records, but that was it. No birth certificate. Hell, no social security number! Her parents were the same, except they had no school records either. It was like all three had just popped into existence simultaneously, thirteen-and-a-half years ago. 

Or the girl that had accused Will and her friends of murdering Elyon. Melinda, no last name. 

No girls named Melinda went to Sheffield Institute. Not since 2004, and  _ that _ Melinda had had blonde hair and brown eyes, not black hair and blue eyes. This Melinda had seemingly just appeared from nowhere with the sole purpose of trying to get Will and her friends arrested. 

And the metal wall in the Browns’ basement which mysteriously vanished and left behind Will’s calculator, conveniently placed for the investigators to find. 

And it wasn’t even just the Browns, though they seemed to be at the center of a lot of this. 

Will and her friends had a strange habit of disappearing randomly, skipping school, walking out on family activities, and all around acting in a manner that Tim, as a teenaged superhero, was familiar with. 

Except Heatherfield didn’t  _ have _ superheroes. Not ones the media ever reported, anyway. 

So what was going on with them? 

And another thing. Tim had dug into the Lins, too. Yan Lin did not have a twin sister. Or a twin brother. Or even siblings. So where exactly had Mira Lin, who was  _ completely identical _ to Yan Lin, come from? 

Tim was also familiar with the subject of clones, and if you looked just at sci-fi, Mira could potentially be a clone. Except Tim also knew that clones didn’t come into being the same age as the DNA donor, nor did they seemingly have the same amount of life experience. 

Not to mention, at the moment Lexcorp were the only ones who had any cloning tech that worked on humans, and Tim had hacked them too. 

Nope. The only cloning project they had worked on was the whole ‘trying-to-clone-Superman’ thing, and Mira Lin was  _ certainly _ not a clone of Clark. 

So where the heck did Mira Lin come from? She didn’t have any records at all.

There were also multiple reports of strange lights, green electricity, and similar things. 

And where would he even  _ begin _ with the bizarre amounts of property damage with no known cause. 

For example. 

The mall, the Egyptian-themed one that had to shut down after being absolutely wrecked after close the day it opened. The cameras hadn’t been working the whole night, and the guard, strangely, had slept through it. 

And then there were the construction zones, the train yard, Sheffield Institute, all suffering from a lot of damage. 

Particularly Sheffield Institute. Where Will and her friends attended school. 

Somehow, Tim had a feeling that Will and her friends were behind a lot of the property damage. 

It all seemed to trace back to shortly after Will and her mother moved to Heatherfield to begin with. 

And the necklace definitely could be magical. 

And if the stalker guy Rick Hoffman was meta of some sort, then there were probably others like him, and maybe Will and her friends were superheroes. Just ones who focused on threats that weren’t public knowledge. 

Tim sat back from his laptop, staring at the screen. 

At least it wasn’t murder this time. 

But still. 

Did it run in the family or something? A need to fight bad guys? Bruce, Kate, Bette… Will? 

“This fucking  _ family _ .” he groaned, sliding down in his chair. Why had he thought joining them was a good idea? 

Then again, it hadn’t really been his original intention. He had just wanted to help Batman not die. 

Now look where he was. In too deep to get back out again. 

Not that he particularly wanted to, but still. 

This was absolute  _ bullshit _ . How was he supposed to find anything on someone who  _ didn’t legally exist? _

\---

Bruce excused himself from the table when his phone rang. 

It was Tim. 

“Ye-” Bruce started, only to be immediately interrupted. 

“Did you know half the people you asked me to research  _ don’t even legally exist _ ?” Tim demanded. 

“They don’t?” 

“None of the Browns legally exist or even existed on paper until about thirteen and a half years ago. Rick Hoffman doesn’t legally exist. That Melinda girl who accused Will of murder doesn’t legally exist at all. I couldn’t find  _ anything _ on her.  _ Anything _ !” 

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. This was not entirely unexpected. He hadn’t been able to find much on Rick Hoffman. But the Browns, too? 

This was just great. 

“Okay.” Bruce said finally. “Nothing?” 

“Nothing at all. I’ll keep looking, but I’m not expecting much.  _ Please _ tell me this isn’t going to end in murder.” 

“Sorry, Tim. It might.” 

Tim heaved one of the most melodramatic sighs Bruce had ever heard in his life. (and Bruce had raised Dick Grayson!)

“Bye, Bruce.” Tim mumbled, and Bruce barely had time to return the sentiment before Tim was hanging up. 

\---

This… was  _ humiliating _ . 

The  _ great _ Lord Cedric had been defeated. Easily. By a  _ nine year old girl _ ! 

So what if the girl was likely some font of mystic energy? The Guardians had not defeated him so handily, and they had been some three or four years older than this girl when first they had clashed with him. 

And now he half-feared trying to find and kill the other family members. What if they, too, were something not-quite-human? 

He needed a new plan. And quickly, before the Guardians caught up to him. 

Cedric had hardly set his mind to thinking before a man stood before him. He hadn’t expected anyone to stumble across his hiding place, and so he tensed, eyes narrowing at the man, prepared to fight if necessary.

“Lord Cedric, I believe?” 

“Yes,” Cedric answered suspiciously. The newcomer smiled. 

“I have an offer for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Kandrakar is introduced.   
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Oracle discovers the return of an enemy seeking the Heart. The Guardians fight Cedric. Tim discovers something terrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i may have gone a tad overboard with the first part

Floating in a rich blue sky, surrounded by fluffy white clouds, there was a shining, iridescent fortress. 

This fortress was known as the Fortress at the Heart of Infinity, and it was named Kandrakar. Kandrakar was, as a matter of fact, incredibly important to the general running of the infinite dimensions. It was here that the Congregation of Kandrakar dwelled, in this shining fortress, ensuring peace throughout the infinite dimensions. 

The Congregation drew members from every dimension. Meridian, Basiliade, Nune-Boreal, and uncountable other worlds… even Earth, where the Guardians came from. After all, what better retirement from ceaselessly protecting the cosmos than coming here, to its heart?

It was Kandrakar that appointed Guardians, and it was Kandrakar that the Guardians came to seeking advice. 

This fortress contained many precious things. 

A library filled with ancient books, magic, and knowledge. 

A healing chamber in which resided the greatest Healer of all the dimensions, Aral. 

And of course, the Hall of the Aurameres, where dwelt Luba in her eternal quest to protect the might of Kandrakar. 

Yes. 

This shining fortress contained much within its marble walls. 

Deep inside the fortress, a small bald man floated above a pool in a beautiful white chamber. 

This man was the Oracle, leader of the Congregation of Kandrakar, the omniscient man who had chosen the Guardians for centuries. He was currently meditating, his all-seeing eyes scanning the infinite dimensions for any signs of trouble. 

White-haired Tibor stood nearby, faithfully guarding the Oracle as he had for many years. 

Beyond the walls of the Oracle’s meditation chamber, the halls of Kandrakar were busier than they had been in decades. Not since before Nerissa’s fall had Kandrakar been so full. Certainly not since the Veil had been put in place, since that had blocked much travel and left Kandrakar, like Earth, Meridian, Zamballa, and other dimensions, isolated. 

Halinor, former Fire Guardian and trusted member of the Congregation, was hard at work reshelving ancient tomes in Kandrakar’s library when she felt the summons. 

The Oracle was calling the Congregation to meet in the Hall of the Congregation. 

This was a circumstance so rare that it had only happened to Halinor once before, when the Oracle had decided on new Guardians. 

Halinor was quick to make for the Hall, surrounded by her fellow Councilmembers. 

The Oracle watched everyone arrive, solemn. 

“What is it, Oracle?” Halinor asked as every congregant settled on the benches. 

“I am afraid that the infinite dimensions are in danger once more.” the Oracle said, gravely. “From an ancient threat on Earth which has allied with Lord Cedric of Meridian.” 

Althor gasped, antennae quivering. “Oracle, not- not him!” 

“I am afraid so.” 

“The Guardians must be warned!” As-Sharwa pronounced. “And Kandrakar must prepare for war!” 

The Oracle bowed his head. “I dearly hope it does not come to that. But yes. And we must prepare for a trial. Lord Cedric has proven too dangerous and quick to escape to remain on Meridian.” 

Halinor rose. “I can go to Earth to warn the Guardians.” 

The Oracle regarded her for a moment, then opened a fold with a gesture. “Go now, Halinor.” 

The ex-Guardian stepped through the fold and into Earth, and behind her, the Congregation began to shout. 

\---

The Guardians, transformed, had finally found Cedric. 

He was clearly not happy. 

Just based off of his roaring. 

“Cornelia, tie him up! Irma, Hay Lin, freeze him!” Will ordered, gesturing for Taranee to follow her. 

Cornelia dove for the ground, vines bursting from the dirt and following her command to wrap around Cedric, who roared again and strained against them, tearing through easily. 

Irma flew overhead, and summoned water. A lot of water. 

Cedric was now wet, pissed, and covered in leaves. 

They really were badass, huh. 

Hay Lin tried to freeze him, but he dodged and swatted her from the sky. She smashed into a crane, leaving a very large hole, and stayed down. 

Will threw a bolt of lightning and dodged his return attack. Taranee dove down with her hands streaming fire, ready to hurl it at him. 

Cedric snarled and fled, disappearing into the construction jungle. 

“Shit!” Taranee yelled after him, giving chase for several miles before he managed to disappear. 

When she returned, everyone was upset. Cornelia sat on the ground, glaring at the sky. Irma landed and tripped over her own feet. 

Hay Lin, dazed, emerged from the wreckage of a nearby crane, stumbling over her feet. 

“ _ Ow _ .” she said. 

“Oh my god, Hay Lin.” Will flew down. 

“I’m fine.” she said. 

They were fairly durable even in human form. Honestly, they wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the natural Guardian durability. It meant they could handle getting hit by a train car or falling ninety feet. 

Or getting electrocuted. 

That didn’t mean it didn’t  _ hurt _ , and Hay Lin was clearly feeling the pain. 

“This is gonna make tomorrow suck,” she whined, rubbing her head. “And he got away!” 

“I know.” Will glowered in the direction that Cedric had gone. “We  _ need _ to find him.” 

“This is bad, this is so bad.” Taranee fretted, landing near Will and Hay Lin. “Who’s he gonna go after next? Oh man, this is bad.” 

Cornelia laid a hand on Taranee’s shoulder. “We’ll find him.”

“We have to.” Will agreed darkly. 

\---

Tim had not really been getting anywhere with security footage in Heatherfield, which was either missing or totally useless. 

Sparks of weird magic covering the camera-useless. Turning off spontaneously-useless. Not even capturing anything-useless. 

Even the  _ school _ cameras had nothing. Though they  _ should _ . 

And clearly everyone involved had been smart enough to keep information off the Internet. Or anywhere Tim could access. 

Which was many places. Really almost everything that was connected to the Internet in any way. 

He occupied himself while waiting for one last clip to load by hacking into a system he’d hacked many times before. It was a well-worn trail, and he hadn’t had trouble with it in a long time. 

Even if they kept disconnecting it from the Internet.  _ Screw you, whoever’s doing the computer stuff _ . 

But he liked to look through the files here, working his way steadily through all the accumulated knowledge of centuries. 

Hmm. 

Tim spotted an interesting file. Clicked on it. Read it. 

“What the fuck?” he whispered, scrolling faster. 

He paused, scanning the screen. 

Realization hit. 

“Shit!” he swore, scrambling out of his chair and seizing his jacket and shoes. 

“Alfred! I need to get to Heatherfield!” 

The screen glowed silently behind him, a black-and-white photograph of a perfectly spherical crystal taking up most of the screen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: we return to Cedric and Bruce stumbles across the Guardians.   
> Hi what would people think if selenestarflower and i did a reaction fic for W.I.T.C.H. where the characters watch the show?  
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cedric speaks with his new ally. Bruce finds the Guardians, transformed. Tim arrives in Heatherfield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My semester is finally coming to a close, this Friday is my last day. Thankfully.

Lord Cedric had found himself in a rather familiar position. 

Bowing before a superior power. 

Of course, the last superior power he had bowed before, he had also betrayed and swallowed whole. 

He did not think his new ally was aware of this little fact. The man seemed entirely too smug. 

“Tell me of the Guardians.” the man commanded. “I want to know my enemy.” 

Cedric raised his head. “They are children. Powerful and rather mature for their ages. Each controls a different element. Water, fire, earth, air, and quintessence.” 

“How much control do they have?” 

Cedric scowled. “Very good control. They are aware of their strengths and of the ways they can combine their abilities. They are capable of a great deal.” 

The man shifted, tilting his head to the side. “Interesting. Tell me more.” 

Cedric bowed his head again. “Their greatest power is the ability to become their element. This is what allowed them to defeat me even when I held more power than them.” 

The man looked intrigued. “I had not heard of that being possible.” 

“I saw it myself. In addition to that, they are capable fighters. They befriended the leader of the rebellion on Meridian, and he may have taught them. The leader is a good strategist, and was able to come up with excellent plans that would easily have succeeded were it not for unforeseen circumstances.” 

“So they will be worthy opponents.” 

Cedric looked up. Perhaps this man could do what no one had done before and take the Heart of Kandrakar. Then again, the Keeper was determined and the Guardians had a habit of doing the impossible and pulling off incredible feats. 

Nerissa had been a highly skilled and incredibly dangerous opponent, one with all the same powers and more knowledge and skill and raw power. She had successfully mind-controlled four intelligent and cautious women who  _ knew _ her and her tricks. She had, Cedric knew, come very close to succeeding. 

He didn’t think that his ally truly understood that for all the Guardians were children, they were truly capable children who were willing to go very far indeed to win. 

There were very few people out there who could still call themselves “heroes” and yet release several dangerous and powerful opponents purely to defeat another. 

And still manage to defeat those opponents through a well-thought-out plan and sheer power and skill. 

“One thing I must speak of, my lord.” Cedric said, remembering an oath made on the power of Kandrakar. 

“Yes?” 

“Do you know of the laws of Permission Magic?”

\---

Bruce had decided to take a walk. It was, after all, nice to be in a largely non-polluted place like Heatherfield, where he could in fact enjoy the sunshine and fresh air and the faint scent of flowers. 

You know. 

Instead of clouds, pollution, and the strong odor of garbage. 

So. 

A walk. 

No one paid him much mind, too busy with their own lives to notice one man strolling down the sidewalk. 

He had a feeling, though, that if something dramatic like a mugging were to happen, everyone would be paying attention. Not a bad thing. Not everywhere was like Gotham. 

He started into a construction zone and froze. Five girls with tiny wings and colorful outfits looked over at him and also froze. 

_ Well, shit _ . 

\---

So Tim was, in fact, freaking  _ the fuck _ out. 

Bruce wasn’t at the hotel and Kate was pretty sure he’d gone for a walk. 

Which was just  _ fantastic _ timing, really great. 

Tim was going to  _ lose his mind _ . 

Where the fuck was Bruce? 

Tim stalked down the sidewalk, tracing the likeliest path for Bruce to take. 

Nothing. 

_ Goddamnit.  _

He tried a different route. 

He absolutely  _ needed _ to find Bruce.  _ Needed _ to find him. This was  _ bad _ , really bad, and it was only going to get worse. 

Once he found Bruce, he needed to find Will and her friends and warn them. Because what was coming would so easily be able to destroy them. 

He had to find them. 

\---

“Permission Magic? I don’t believe so.” 

Cedric tilted his head. “It is not written down. The laws govern magic and power. Specifically regarding Hearts. It is required that such power be given willingly, or the true owner can simply call it back. Of course, trickery can be used…”

\---

Will was panicking and none of her friends were sure what to do. 

It wasn’t like this was the first time that any of them had been seen in Guardian form. Hello, the entire reason Matt had gotten involved to begin with was because he’d seen them in Guardian form. 

But still. 

This was different. 

This was an adult. 

They didn’t have the excuse of Halloween costumes this time. 

They didn’t have any excuses at all. 

\---

Cedric silently exited his new ally’s meeting room, smiling to himself. A successful meeting, all things considered. The Guardians were capable, yes, but he had seen what his new ally was capable of, too, and he was confident that even the Guardians would not be able to pull this off. 

Taking them by surprise would leave them without allies. They would be unprepared and angry. 

Sloppy. 

Yes. This plan would work. 

_ So swears Lord Cedric. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, you still don't get to know who Cedric's ally is. Suffice it to say that the ally is a known Batman villain.   
> I’ve already got the sequel planned, who wants to see the Batfamily tangle with the Guardians’ most dangerous opponent?  
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce learns the truth about his young cousin and her friends. Tim searches for his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wherein I try to figure out how to tell the W.I.T.C.H. storyline without being boring and swear a lot, but only when it’s from Tim’s POV.

Bruce snapped into action a moment after Will started having a full-on panic attack. It was pretty clear that the other four didn’t know how to stop one, and anyway the smallest seemed to not be doing so well. 

He guided Will through calming down and sat back on his heels once she was breathing alright. 

“So.” he said, raising an eyebrow. 

The other four girls exchanged looks. 

“Are you Will’s cousin?” the girl with glasses asked. 

“Yes.” 

“I’m Taranee. That’s Irma, that’s Hay Lin, and that’s Cornelia.”

Bruce gave them a nod. 

Will got control of herself and lifted her hand. The crystal popped into view above her palm and, one bright pink flash of light later, the five girls no longer had wings. 

“Um.” Will said, pocketing the necklace. “So. You’re probably wondering…” 

Bruce shifted and waited. 

He didn’t notice his phone buzzing. 

\---

Tim was going to stab the next ‘concerned citizen’ to ask him what had him looking so upset. 

He had  _ reasons _ to be upset, okay? And he couldn’t exactly tell random passerby that his adoptive father’s first cousin once removed and all of her friends were in  _ mortal danger _ from an incredibly powerful man. 

And Bruce  _ wasn’t answering his fucking phone _ . 

Tim scowled and slouched against the wall, starting to hack his father’s location. 

Fine. 

If Bruce wasn’t going to  _ answer his god damn phone _ , then Tim would just stalk him. 

Nothing he hadn’t done before. 

Though he sure hadn’t hacked the location when he was a tiny and stupid nine-year-old risking his life following a dangerous vigilante on daily patrol routes at night in the most dangerous city in the United States. 

Nope. 

He’d just wandered around hoping to see Batman.

Sometimes he wondered how he had made it to fifteen. It was probably a miracle. But he was holding his breath until he hit sixteen, since Jason had died at fifteen. 

Then again, Jason had a lot more common sense than Tim, or he had pre-Pit. So maybe Tim was fine. 

Nope. 

Time to stop this line of thought and go back to hacking Bruce’s phone. No existential dread today, he had enough shit going on. 

\---

Will started talking, telling a story of a magical necklace and a hereditary title with thousands of years of history. 

Including who “Rick Hoffman” really was. 

“I’m sorry,” Bruce interjected, “but he’s a lord?” 

Will hummed. “I think Elyon revoked that, actually. But he still calls himself Lord Cedric.” 

“Elyon  _ Brown _ ?” 

Will squinted at him. “How did you- never mind. Yeah. She’s the Queen of Meridian.” 

Bruce rubbed his temples. 

“Anyway. He was Prince Phobos, Elyon’s evil older brother who killed their parents and usurped the throne, um, Phobos’ right-hand-man. Until he betrayed Phobos and swallowed him whole in order to steal all of Phobos’ power because he was upset about Phobos shrinking him to a regular snake size because of how many times Cedric had messed up.” 

Bruce rubbed his temples a little harder. 

_ Why _ , he lamented internally. 

“Oh, yeah,” Will added. “Cedric can turn into a gigantic snake monster.” 

“Like, twenty feet tall!” Hay Lin added with an alarming amount of enthusiasm, considering she had apparently been flung directly through a large crane not fifteen minutes ago by the snake monster they were talking about. 

(Bruce was  _ certain _ that his own children were never this enthusiastic about villains.) 

(Bruce was also forgetting the time Stephanie got thrown off of a roof by Two-Face and actually popped back up onto the roof demanding that the villain throw her again. Or the time Tim got tangled up in a new plant creation of Ivy’s and spent the entire trip home babbling about how  _ cool _ the plants Ivy created were. Or… the list goes on and on and on.)

“Taller.” Taranee disagreed. Hay Lin shrugged. 

“Can we get back to the story?” Cornelia asked impatiently. 

“Yeah, huge snake monster who tried to murder us all for his evil tyrannical boss.” Irma said, shrugging. “Eh, all in a day’s work.” 

Bruce probably had no room to talk there, given that his children had all been varying degrees of underage when they had become vigilantes. 

Then again, in his own defense, literally none of them would take no for an answer. 

“Go on.” he prompted his cousin. She did. 

“So we’re given the job of closing portals in the Veil, and somehow we end up helping to overthrow a tyrant.” Will said, gesturing wildly. “Like, joining forces with the rebellion and fighting evil, it was so cool except for the part where they were all trying to kill us-”

(Bruce was forcibly reminded of Dick in the early days, and also last week.)

“Yeah!” Hay Lin joined in. “And like the day after we got the Heart and all Will got kidnapped by Phobos and his people and we had to go rescue her! We had the Heart and everything but it was super freaky, but super cool! And we had to get into Phobos’ castle with only a little bit of our powers, and Cornelia George-of-the-Jungled right into the castle wall!” She burst into giggles, beaming. 

(Bruce was even more forcibly reminded of Dick.)

“And we rescued a rebel leader too.” Irma said. “His name’s Caleb and he’s, like, seventeen. ‘Cause the rebellion was a lot of teenagers mostly.” 

Bruce winced internally. 

The story continued to spill in jumbled bits and pieces out of the five girls. 

\---

Silence fell across the group as Will ended the story with how they’d defeated Phobos and gotten his sister crowned. There was clearly more to the story, things she had left out or perhaps forgotten, but the majority of their history with Cedric, at least, was made clear. 

The silence was broken by rapid footsteps that had all of them whipping around and tensing up. 

Tim Drake sprinted around the corner, caught sight of Bruce, and skidded to a halt, slumping with relief. “ _ Bruce. _ ”

“Tim?” 

Tim sat down kind of hard. “We have… a  _ problem _ .” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the thing where last chapter update did not pop up at the top of the archives or my Works page is fixed…   
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The enemy is, at long last, revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting chapter ten early as a Christmas present to myself and also all of my readers! Also, I’d like to announce that I’m done writing this fic and have begun working on the sequel!

Bruce’s eyes narrowed at his son. “What is it?” 

Tim braced his hands on his knees, clearly having run for some length of time. “Ra’s.” 

Bruce tensed, knowing that this could mean anything from  _ the problem is at home and has to do with Damian _ to  _ Ra’s is stalking me again, help _ and any variety of things in between. “What do you mean, Ra’s?” 

Tim abruptly recalled that he’d left all the evidence at home. “I hacked his files and found something weird. Hang on, let me try again…” 

He dug out his phone and set to work. 

“Something weird that caused you to travel all the way to Heatherfield?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow. Tim nodded, tapping at his screen, eyes narrowed and nose scrunched with concentration. 

And then a blue tear opened in the air and a blonde woman in a long blueish robe stepped through. 

The woman paused. And blinked. 

\---

Halinor was not exactly expecting two more people than there should be, but since it seemed clear that the two men (well, one man and one boy) knew about the Guardians, she would simply do what she came here to do. 

“Halinor?” Will asked, standing up. “What’s going on?” 

“The Oracle summoned the Council today to warn us of a threat to the Heart. A dangerous threat that desires the Heart for dark purposes.” she replied. 

\---

The reaction to that was mixed. Bruce and Tim didn’t seem to know what exactly  _ dark purposes _ could mean in regards to the Heart, while the Guardians knew that the Heart was literally infinite power, particularly over the five elements, and  _ none  _ of them wanted to ever see the Heart in evil hands. 

Will fearfully wrapped her hand around the crystal, feeling the Heart warm her skin. “What threat? Is it-” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say Nerissa’s name- there were old fears there, and trauma that hadn’t quite made itself known at first, until Will started having nightmares about the girl that didn’t get to live and the fear of losing everything and everyone she loved at the hands of a madwoman. 

Halinor correctly interpreted Will’s fear. “A far older threat than her. A man of this dimension, known as Ra’s al Ghul.” 

“What.” Bruce said flatly. Tim held up a finger. 

“That’s what I was gonna tell you.” he said absently, still looking at his phone. 

“Who’s-” Irma started, eyes wide and wandering across the whole group, looking for someone to answer her. 

“An ancient eco-terrorist who leads the League of Assassins.” Tim said quietly. Judging from his expression, he wasn’t in the least bit fond of the man. 

(Tim had  _ problems, _ okay, and Ra’s creeped him the fuck out, and also occasionally stalked him.)

“League of Assassins?” Taranee nervously tugged at her braid. “Isn’t that Justice League, I don’t know, Batman stuff?” 

Bruce awkwardly cleared his throat. 

“Holy shit.” Taranee breathed. “You’re-”

Sometimes they forgot Taranee was telepathic and that her powers were only increasing. 

“You’re Batman?” Will stared at her cousin, wide-eyed. Because seriously. She was related to Batman?

“Yes.” Bruce said. Tim smirked, looking rather amused by the whole situation. 

“Wait.” Will said suddenly. “If this guy wants the Heart, and Cedric wants to kill us…” 

“Have they teamed up?” Hay Lin asked, eyes wide. “If they’ve teamed up, that’s bad, right?” 

Bruce swore in Russian (it doesn’t count as swearing if most of the people around you don’t speak the language, Alfred, and Tim doesn’t count because he’s heard worse) and grabbed his phone. The amount of damage Ra’s would be able to do with a magic necklace that was extremely powerful, and the fact that he was currently about eighty percent sure that Will would die to protect said magic necklace, and the amount of damage Ra’s could do with a giant, angry, snake monster… 

He needed backup. They all needed backup. He dialed Kate’s number and told her to call Dick. 

_ “Why?” _

“We have a problem. The League of Assassins is involved.” he said curtly. 

Will seized her own phone and found Matt’s contact, hitting the call button with shaking fingers. Threats on the Heart were bad. Especially when they involved people who knew something of Permission Magic. Which Cedric  _ had to,  _ since he’d known enough to anticipate the trap they’d set for Phobos and enough to avert their plan. 

He definitely knew more than Phobos. 

Which reminded Will that she’d forgotten to ask how Phobos had managed to siphon the Heart of Kandrakar while he was hopped up on Elyon-power. It was probably important. 

Cornelia turned to Halinor. “How much time do we have?” 

“Not much.” Halinor said grimly. 

“Will,  _ send me to Meridian _ .” Cornelia said. “I’m getting Elyon!” 

Will waved the Heart in her free hand, and a fold opened up. Cornelia scrambled through it. 

Hopefully Cornelia wouldn’t have far to go. 

Will  _ was _ getting better at accurate folds. But she wasn’t perfect. 

A moment later, Matt picked up. 

“Hey, Will!” 

“We’ve got a problem.” she said grimly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!  
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for battle!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we slowly begin to close in on the end of this fic… and the final battle of this fic.  
> Though I’m certainly not done with this universe!

Apparently, they were gathering right here in the outskirts of Heatherfield. 

Kate had arrived and had called Dick, who would be here as soon as he could with their suits and as much backup as he could round up. She was upset about the fact that Bruce had left her a bit out of the loop, but it was pretty par for the course when it came to Batman, so she just shrugged it off.

Matt had arrived three and a half minutes after being called, with Mr. Huggles. 

Halinor had returned to Kandrakar. 

“Isn’t she a former Guardian?” Bruce asked Will. “Couldn’t she help?” 

Will frowned. “Using Guardian powers when you’re no longer a Guardian drains you. When you’re a Guardian, you draw power from the Heart and from the Aurameres in Kandrakar.” Bruce tactfully chose not to ask about the Aurameres, though he filed the unfamiliar word away. Will continued. “And once you are disconnected from the Heart and Aurameres, you have to draw power from a different source. If you don’t have one, you drain your life force.” 

Bruce’s eyes widened. That did  _ not _ sound pleasant. “You know this from experience?” 

Will’s nose wrinkled. “I mean, Mrs. Lin talks about it… once Hay Lin had to lend her a bit of life force because we were pretty scattered and needed to be rounded up and none of us can teletransport very reliably yet. Teletransporting’s basically teleporting.” 

Bruce nodded slowly. 

“I mean, Phobos had to draw from his own life force when he couldn’t drain Meridian. It’s dangerous, it ages you faster and stuff.” Again Will’s nose wrinkled. Given that neither Yan Lin nor Halinor looked particularly old, Bruce figured that she was either talking about Phobos or someone else. 

“Anyway, it’s better to avoid that.” Will concluded. 

Bruce nodded again. “Makes sense.” 

Hay Lin suddenly called out, “I think someone’s coming! I hear-” she broke off. 

“What?” Will said, looking worried. 

“I hear Cedric talking to someone, nearby. In the city. They’re getting ready to find us and attack.” 

A small plane descended to land nearby. Far enough not to hurt anyone, but nearby. Nightwing came hurtling out followed closely by Robin, Spoiler, Black Bat, and Red Hood. Bruce, Kate, and Tim quickly headed for the plane to change into their costumes. They were back in less than two minutes. 

(When you’re a vigilante, you learn to change into your armor fast. It’s that or the city burns while you’re trying to zip up your pants.)

Will raised the Heart. “Guardians unite!” 

One frankly blinding amount of pink light later, the four Guardians currently present landed safely on the ground, transformed. Matt followed suit, transforming into a massive winged man, and Mr. Huggles also became a massive furry beast.    
It wasn’t enough. Bruce scanned the small crowd. It wasn’t enough to face Ra’s. 

He hoped that Cornelia quickly fetched the girl who apparently had an entire army, because they would probably need it. 

The ground shook faintly. An immense snakelike monster who could only have been Lord Cedric came into view, slithering amongst Ra’s’ assassins and the man himself. 

Ra’s al Ghul strode at the head of the army, smugly smirking and eyeing the small assortment of opponents. 

Will shifted her weight, eyes flicking across the army. They’d faced worse odds before. 

Right? 

Bruce adjusted his gauntlet. 

Tim squinted at Ra’s with enough dislike to potentially power an entire city. 

Matt remained expressionless. Of course, he was wearing a mask that covered his entire face. Steph, several yards away, wondered if he even  _ had _ a face. 

That was a disturbing thought that she quickly filed away. 

Ra’s came to a stop several long yards away. They could all see his smile. 

“Hello, Detective. Imagine seeing you here.” the man said. 

Bruce clenched his jaw. “Ra’s.” 

Ra’s turned to Will. “Keeper of the Heart.” 

Will lifted her chin, boldly defiant. “That’s me.” 

“Make things easier for yourself and your… allies.” 

Her eyes hardened. 

“Give me the Heart of Kandrakar.” Ra’s said. 

Will watched him for several long beats. She’d heard  _ that _ demand before. She’d never given in, not to Phobos, not to Nerissa, not to Cedric, not the Knights of Vengeance, not the Knights of Destruction.

She thought of Cassidy, alone on a cold mountain with her best friend turned worst enemy. Thought of how lightning felt when it struck you. (Thought, for a moment, of the girl who never got to live, the girl who was Will and not Will, who lived inside her now.) Thought of how terrified Cassidy must have been when she fell. 

Then she spoke, voice cold and dangerous. 

“No.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, if you want to read something about Will’s Altermere, I wrote a fic where she survived! It’s called “if i break the glass then i’ll have to fly”.   
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight begins and ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m bad at writing fights. Sorry. This isn’t really the climax of the fic.   
> Also yes Irma is in fact a lesbian.

Ra’s’ eyes hardened. “Stubborn girl. You will regret this, I assure you.” 

Will crossed her arms. “I never have before.” 

She would  _ die _ to protect the Heart. It was the least she could do, after all. After Cassidy. 

Ra’s repressed the urge to sigh. Why were American children so stubborn? First Timothy, now this girl who could not be much older than the young detective. 

He raised a hand and let it fall. His assassins flowed forward, prepared to show these insolent brats what they were capable of. 

He did not know why the Detective was here. Perhaps he had somehow heard about this situation. 

He did not need to know. 

A moment later, the Guardians rose into the air, missing one. The first, a dark-skinned girl with glasses, unleashed a wave of flame that roared towards her opponents. Ra’s’ assassins scattered. 

One of them flung a knife and the girl melted it away.    
The pigtailed girl raised her hands and a gale started, until Cedric swatted her from the sky. 

The Guardians turned their attention to the serpentine monster. The Detective and his children waded into battle. A masked man lifted into the air with heavy beats of great black feathered wings and blasted an assassin back with a blaze of green energy. A furred monster in a tunic leapt into the fray, snarling and swatting aside grown men. 

Ra’s drew his sword. 

\---

They were too good. Cedric had taken on the Guardians and seemed enraged and fully prepared to kill them. And the assassins that Ra’s had bought were the best of his assassins. 

Bruce was inclined to look the other way when he heard Jason’s guns going off. 

But they were definitely losing. Definitely. 

And then the fold opened and Elyon Brown, dressed in blue, with a crown on her head, stepped through. She was followed by Cornelia and an army. 

Bruce watched Ra’s take in the assortment of (men?) soldiers and the girl heading them and saw him smirk. 

And then Elyon levitated into the air and raised her hand. Cedric screeched in rage as golden light enveloped him and he shrank down to human. A soldier grabbed him and bound his wrists in silver chains. 

Ra’s immediately began to retreat. 

Cornelia raised her hands and yanked weapons out of assassins’ hands, letting them clatter to the ground. 

It didn’t take more than five minutes for the rest of the assassins to disperse and flee, Ra’s among them. 

They had won. 

\---

“Elyon!” Will descended rapidly, smiling at the young queen, who smiled back. 

“Hi, Will. You guys get in so much trouble, huh?” 

“To be fair, this is not at  _ all _ our fault.” 

Elyon snorted and glanced over at Cedric, who looked furiously back. “I contacted the Oracle. He said to bring Cedric to Kandrakar, to stand trial. I think they have a prison they’re going to keep him in.” 

“So he’ll stop escaping?” Irma asked, landing near them. Her cheek was scraped. 

“Yeah.” Elyon reached out and touched Irma’s scraped cheek. Her fingers glowed. The scrape healed. 

Irma fought a blush and leaned away. 

“He said to bring the regular people too. I’m not sure he understood that vigilantes don’t really count as regular people.” 

Tim, nearby, snickered softly. 

Will pulled out the Heart and said, “We’ll need a big fold for… well, the vigilantes, plus us, I guess you’ll send your soldiers back to Meridian?”

“Yeah.” Elyon waved a hand. A fold opened for her soldiers, and all but Caleb and the one who was keeping Cedric cuffed went through. 

Will raised the Heart and glanced at her vigilante cousins. “So you’re going to get to see Kandrakar. It’s really beautiful, just make sure to be respectful and all.” 

Red Hood snorted. “Sure, I think we can act normal for a while.” 

Will blinked. “ _ Jason? _ ” 

“Yup. Didn’t stay dead.” 

Will shook her head, forcing herself to stay focused, and opened a fold to Kandrakar. 

They all stepped through, one by one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I do in fact have a fic planned for how Jason and Will met. It’ll be posted on Thanksgiving 2021.   
> Next chapter is Cedric’s trial.   
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Cedric is put on trial. Will talks to her cousins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I venture into Jason’s POV for the first time. It goes okay.

Kandrakar was beautiful. 

As Will led them through the marble halls, Jason thought this place was probably one of the fanciest buildings he’d ever been in. 

He almost didn’t want to touch anything. 

It looked like Tim and Steph at least felt the same, judging by the matching looks of vague discomfort on their faces. Jason tried not to snort. 

Bruce was expressionless. He was very good at pretending to be at home everywhere. 

Dick was looking around curiously, seemingly unaffected by the ornate marble and fanciness everywhere. 

And then they were walking into a vast meeting room with rows and rows of benches that were filled with people in long blueish robes. 

It kinda looked like a cult meeting. 

A bald man standing in the middle turned and greeted the blonde in the crown first. 

“Queen Elyon,” he said respectfully, “if you would have your guard place the accused in the center of the Hall.” 

Jason was pretty sure that Elyon was an epithet for God. 

“Guardians.” the man then said with a pleased smile. “Regents. And, of course, our guests.” He swept a hand to indicate Jason’s family. “I am the Oracle. Welcome to Kandrakar.” 

No one was sure how to respond, but fortunately, the Oracle (seriously?) kept talking. “If everyone would please take seats to the left-” he gestured at an empty area of the benches- “we will begin the trial.” 

Jason followed the others over, wondering what the fuck he was needed here for. It wasn’t like he even knew the guy on trial’s  _ name,  _ or anything.

“Honored Members of the Congregation of Kandrakar,” the Oracle began, addressing the rows of robed people, “we are gathered here today for the trial of Cedric, Beast of the kingdom of Meridian and former Lord of the Court of the illegitimate ruler Prince Phobos. The person on trial has numerous crimes that we are here to judge. First, Tibor will read the list of crimes.” 

A white-bearded man stepped forward with a scroll. He snapped it. It rolled down to his feet. 

The guy was  _ not _ short. 

Jason was almost impressed. 

“Cedric of Meridian is accused of the following crimes.” Tibor said. “Murder of…” There were several names that followed that crime, quite a few, actually. “Attempted murder of Elyon Escanor, Queen of Meridian, Wilhelmina Vandom of Earth, Irma Lair of Earth, Taranee Cook of Earth, Cornelia Hale of Earth, Hay Lin of Earth, Lillian Hale of Earth, Matthew Olsen of Earth, Caleb of Meridian…” the list went on. 

There were still more crimes. 

“Usurpation of the Heart of Meridian. Usurpation of the Heart of Zamballa. Attempted Usurpation of the Heart of Kandrakar. Attempted Usurpation of the Heart of Earth.” 

_ What the fuck is happening? _ Jason was pretty out of his depth here. It was lucky the helmet covered his entire face, because otherwise everyone would be able to  _ see _ just how confused he was right now. 

Tibor kept reading more crimes- (“Assisting in the subjugation of the Meridianite people, attempting to conquer Earth-”)

The guy, Cedric, just looked irritated. 

The crimes kept coming. 

Jesus, how old was this guy? Jason’s list was probably a similar length, at least, mostly because assault was a crime and he regularly beat people up badly enough to send them to the hospital, but… 

The Guardians were called up to recount his apparent attempt to conquer Earth and testify as to his attempts to kill them. 

It was a lot. Jason thought of the tiny ten year old with the big eyes sitting next to him at Thanksgiving, swinging her feet and chattering away about the swim team she wanted to join and how badly she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. 

Well, everyone grows up eventually. In this family, it figured that that meant “fighting evil assholes and nearly dying on a regular basis”. 

The Oracle guy called up Queen Elyon next, and she quietly recounted Cedric’s slow manipulation of her into going with him to Meridian and believing every word that came out of her brother’s mouth, until she nearly died at her brother’s hands. 

Jason decided that this guy was definitely an asshole. 

The Oracle turned to the rows of robed people. “Honorable Members of the Congregation of Kandrakar,” he said, “I ask that you pass sentence now on Cedric of Meridian. There can be no question of his guilt. The only thing we are here to decide is his fate.” 

Jason wondered to himself if they had a prison up here, or if they had the death sentence. 

The Congregation people muttered to each other, whispers building and overlapping until nearly every member was nodding, expressions grave and angry. 

Finally, an old man with tattoos stood. 

“As-Sharwa, Voice of the Congregation, what is the Congregation of Kandrakar’s decision on Cedric of Meridian’s fate?” the Oracle asked. 

“The Congregation has come to a consensus.” As-Sharwa proclaimed solemnly. “For his crimes against the dimension of Meridian and her people, the dimension of Kandrakar, and the dimension of Earth and her people, Cedric of Meridian shall be cast into the Tower of Mists to be imprisoned for the remainder of his lifespan, never to be released by any member of this Congregation.” 

“So be it.” the Oracle said solemnly. “If the Guardians would accompany the prisoner to the Tower of Mists…” 

He turned and walked out of the room, with the Guardians quick to follow grabbing a suddenly-furious Cedric on the way. 

The rest of them waited, rather awkwardly. 

Tim yawned. Jason suspected he had not been sleeping much. 

It was a while before the Guardians returned and the Oracle dismissed the Congregation. 

They headed down the steps, ready to go home. Will was lingering by the Oracle, and they heard him say to her, “He may try again. You must be ready to guard the Heart with everything you have.” 

She nodded, solemn. “I will.” 

Jason wondered why the fuck important things were always left to children. 

Will came up to them, looking tired. “We can go home now.” 

She opened a (portal? hole? something, anyway) for them to go home, and they did. 

\---

It was a few days before everyone got back together. Will yawned a bit, slumped sideways on a park bench waiting for her cousins to arrive. Her dad was talking to her over the phone, about something or other. 

“-and can you believe your mother called me to chew me out about not mentioning Bruce and Kate coming to visit?” 

Will startled awake. “Wait, really?” 

“Yeah. She was upset about being left out of the loop, I suppose. But really, I’d forgotten myself until the day they arrived! Ha, guess I should have put it in my calendar, huh? Well, I’ve got some work to do, Will.” 

“Talk to you later.” Will said absently as her dad cheerfully said goodbye and hung up. She deposited Ed on the grass and yawned again. 

_ “You know, your dad has a lot to learn about responsibility.” _ Ed said. 

“Shut up.” Will muttered. 

“This spot taken?” 

She jumped, and then relaxed when she recognized Tim, rolling her eyes and pulling her feet up so he could sit. 

The cousins had arrived. 

\---

Will had had to repeat the explanation she’d given Bruce. It wasn’t terrible, even though everyone asked a lot of questions, sometimes about the strangest of things. 

Like what had happened to the guards that had worked for Phobos. Most of them had been retrained and continued service (to Elyon instead of Phobos), and the ones that hadn’t had been imprisoned in the Meridian Prison Hold in the Infinite City. 

There were a lot of questions about Cavigor Prison, too. Will could acknowledge that it was awfully dangerous to build a prison that couldn’t even be escaped by the guards, but it was hard to say what Phobos had been thinking. 

Probably “I don’t care about the guards, they’re just guards who cares”, given what Tynar had said about his cures for wounded soldiers. 

Will didn’t think he’d been all that stable, anyway. Especially after being defeated three times. 

\---

Bruce thought that this trip had been much more productive than he’d thought it would be. 

They’d fought Ra’s (again), helped his cousin defeat an evil monster from another dimension, and made sure that his cousin had more of a support network to rely on. 

Just in case. 

He stepped onto the plane and the door closed behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this seems like the conclusion, but there’s a fluffy bit of epilogue and a tease for the sequel that’ll be posted next week.   
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!  
> Updates on Sunday!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone who’s been reading this will pick up the sequel, “Enemies and Escapes”, in a couple of months or so once I start posting it!

Bruce glanced up from his newspaper when Tim walked into the kitchen, amusement rising at Tim’s disgruntled expression. 

“Alfred cut off your Internet again?” he asked. 

Tim grumbled in response and shook his head. “Will did. From  _ miles away. _ ”

Bruce raised an impressed eyebrow. “Probably a good thing. You haven’t been sleeping.”

Tim made a face at him and slumped into a chair. “Mean.” he mumbled. “I was  _ doing stuff _ .” 

Bruce just chuckled. Even if it was a bit strange to have his son (and his daughter- Cass kept finding excuses to swing by Heatherfield) suddenly friends with his young cousin, at least it meant Tim left his room more often. 

Life was pretty good. 

\---

_ Far away in another dimension, evil begins to stir.  _

_ The dreams are fading.  _

_ The throne slips out from underneath her.  _

_ Her son vanishes like smoke.  _

_ Her lovers follow him.  _

_ The dreams fade away.  _

_ And Nerissa Crossnic, once-Keeper of the Heart, awakens in her jeweled prison.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And fin. There will be a sequel (you can probably guess the basic plot just from the last part of this epilogue if you’ve watched W.I.T.C.H.), there’s already three side stories out and another two being written, and there may someday be a prequel, or more side stories for this, if anyone wants.   
> It’ll likely be a couple of months before I start posting the sequel. My burst of productivity in November/December/early January is over and I can barely write anything right now.  
> (Also, yes, “lovers” plural. I subscribe to the theory that Nerissa and Cassidy were together- she seems almost affectionate towards her in the show? Idk, giving her more leeway than the others, since Cassidy talks and is given the Mage ring and all. Also she seems to have affection for Julian.)   
> Watch me scream into the void on tumblr @cassandra-starflower!

**Author's Note:**

> Short first chapter, but I hope someone out there enjoys this crossover. I’ve already got a few chapters built up and will try to post every Sunday.


End file.
